The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1887-01-26
HORSES IN JAPAN.
A DESCRIPTION OF THE IMPERIAL
PASTURE OF SHlMOSA.
The Largest Breeding Farm in the
world-Five Hundred Miles of Outside
and e, 500 Miles of Inside Embankment
Fence.

Fence.
There are large breeding establishments
in many other parts of the world, but 1t IS
doubtful if there is now, or ever was,
breeding establishment in any other coun-
try that could equal the great horse pasture
of Shimosa, in Japan. Nearly thousand
years ago the main island of the japanese
empire was about equally divided between
the conquering race and the aborlglnes.
The conquerors held the southern half and
the aborigines the northern half One or
the reigning Tycoons determined upon the
conquest of the aborigines, and he sent
large and well equipped army across the
Hakoni range into the aboriginal territory.
After long war, in which there were
many bloody battles, the aborigines were
defeated and driven north. The territory
conquered comprises all the country around
Toxic, the capital, and several provinces
still north OF that within the boundaries OF
this conquest, were what are now called
the ''plains of Shimosa." These plains
were found to be admirably adapted to
grazing They about forty miles east
of Toxic, between the head Of the bay OF
Yeddo and the ocean, and are 300 or 400
feet above the sea level. They are in fact
peninsula table lands. From these plains
considerable number of small streams have
their sources. The larger part of this sur
lace lS cONcIcu Win y uSStS' iiiti6OiACUS ~
that country among which are several
kinds of clovers, bunch grasses and fescus
grass. At intervals there are groves OF
pines, oaks, beach and maple trees
AN IMPERIAL SCHEME.
II was determined to establish there a past
ure where the best cavalry horses could be
bred and in such numbers that their whole
cavalry could be supplied with fresh mounts
at any time. Ordinary Enclosures and even
subdivision fences, could have been built
with little labor and cost, but ordinary
fences would not have met the requirements.
The japanese population was then 300 or
400 miles south of that point. Two hundred
miles north were the defeated but still un-
conquered aborigines, ready to pounce down
upon their invaders whenever a favorable
opportunity presented. Under these circum-
stances a fortified fence was demanded. To
thus inclose peninsula fifty miles by
seventy miles a gigantic work, but
when an absolute authority, with millions
of submissive people ready to obey that au-
thority determines to do work the
amount of labor involved does not stand in
the way of it's accomplishment. An i'm
perial decree was issued, ordering each feu-
dal prince in the empire to send certain
number of laborers to build the inclosure
and to make permanent settlements there.
All the lands bordering the streams, srs-
ceptible of irrigation, were allotted TO the
laborers for homes From every province
laborers, with their families, poured in,
and Ia a short time $50 villages were built
along the line of the proposed inclosure.
Crops for the food of these workers were
planted, and the work OH the fortified fences
began with impressive ceremonies befitting
the Importance of this project.
THE OUTER ENCLOSURE.
The outer Enclosure was a solid earth en-
bankment sixteen feet high. 1t was built to
conform to the borders of the table land,
which on .he bay and ocean sides were very
irregular These irregularities increased
the length of the embankment, and, as the
land along the streams allotted to the settlers
could not be included in the pasture, this
great embankment had to be run up on
one side OF the stream nearly 20 its source
and then back again down the other side.
As there were many of these streams the
amount of embanSment was enormously in
creased. In a book published by the govern
ment many years ago the length of this
outer fortified fence or embankment Is
stated TO be 500 miles. From two years
residence on this table land, riding every
day through various portions of this old
horse pasture 1 believe this statement il
within the bounds of truth. After this outer
embankment was finished it was sown with
grass, called "Hea," which becomes more
deeply rooted in the soil than any other
Known grass III LnaU case tns roots ran
through the whole of the masses of earth,
and have thus held them together so firmly
that the embankments have not perceptibly
washed weathered through all the cent
uries which have interviewed since their
construction. On the top of this embank
ment row of trees was planted. This in
closure formed a very strong defense, and
even II an enemy had stormed and taken it
It would have been impossible to get the
hsN,-S NJ af fha eynfa- xxIri ifsh
still more strongly fortified and detach-
ment of mounted troops stationed at
each one. AT convenient points cOrralS
were built, and these were made doubly
strong They were built by throwing up
embankments twenty five and even thirty
feet high.
A NEEDLESS PRECAUTIoN.
In ease the aborigines had succeeded in
getting inside the outer embankment, the
horses were to have been run into these I'M
mense corrals and defended there The
aborigines never succeeded in getting into
the pasture and if they had the corrals
would not have been needed, for in u few
years these horses became so wild that the
whole Sioux tribe of Indians could not
have caught them. The work of building
the outer embankment occupied many
years and the construction of the corrals
many more. Then all this great plain or
table land was subdivided into smaller pas
lures containing from 400 10 1000 acres
each. The subdivision embankments were
made twelve feet high, and the authority
above quoted places the total length of
these at :, 500 miles. This work was all
done by manual labor, the earth being dug
up by mattocks, put in rope sacks and then
carried to the enbankment on the backs OF
men. The best equine sock of the empire
was bought and brought 10 these pastures.
ambassadors were sent to Corea, Manchu-
ria and China, and the blooded stations
were bought for the improvement of the
native blood By the natural increase in a
century or two there was an immense num-
b.r OF horses in this imperial pasture. The
official authority already quoted puts this
number at more than 1OO. 600 The laborers
used in the construction of the ernbankments